Financial assessment systems and methods

ABSTRACT

Financial assessment systems, methods and graphical user interfaces are described. Financial information for an individual is received and integrated in a financial plan. A synopsis view of the financial plan is graphically presented. The synopsis view of the financial plan may include one or more financial recommendations for the individual. The recommendations and the synopsis view may be updated in real-time in response to a change in the financial information. The recommendations and the synopsis view may be used by the individual who is the subject of the financial plan or may be used by financial advisors. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

CROSS REFERENCES

This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/324,150titled “Financial Assessment Systems and Methods”; filed on Dec. 30,2005. This application is also related to U.S. application Ser. No.11/323,311 titled “Financial Assessment Systems and Methods” filed onDec. 30, 2005.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments described herein relate to computer systems and userinterfaces generally, including systems and methods for providing afinancial assessment.

BACKGROUND

Financial product providers are not currently able to accurately tracktheir customers' financial well-being to ensure that they are helpingthe customer. Currently, customers contact a financial product providerwhen the customer thinks that he/she needs a product or service. Inresponse to the customer-initiated contact, the financial productprovider offers recommendations. Thus, financial product providers workin a manner that is reactive to their customers' needs.

SUMMARY

Financial assessment systems, methods, and graphical user interfaces aredescribed. Financial information for an individual is received andintegrated in a financial plan. A synopsis view of the financial plan isgraphically presented. The synopsis view of the financial plan mayinclude one or more financial recommendations for an individual. Therecommendations and the synopsis view may be updated in real-time inresponse to a change in the financial information. The recommendationsand the synopsis view may be used by an individual who is the subject ofthe financial plan, or may be used by financial advisors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 comprises a block diagram of a financial assessment systemaccording to various embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the processing modules of the system shownin FIG. 1 according to various embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of generating a real-timefinancial plan according to various embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an alternate method of generatinga financial plan according to various embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of facilitating financialcounseling according to various embodiments.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 7, and 8 illustrate examples of graphical userinterfaces incorporating visual indicators with a synopsis view toindicate financial recommendations according to various embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an article according to variousembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is divided into four sections. Thefirst section presents a system level overview of the inventive subjectmatter. The second section provides methods of using example embodimentsof the inventive subject matter. The third section describes exampleimplementations. The fourth section describes the hardware and theoperating environment in conjunction with which embodiments can bepracticed.

System Level Overview

FIG. 1 comprises a block diagram of a financial assessment system 100according to various embodiments. The system 100 comprises inputs 102,processing modules 104, outputs 106, and one or more data repositories108.

The inputs 102 include financial, and other data, for an individual. Thefinancial, and other data, may be received from an individual who is thesubject of the financial plan. The financial, and other data, may alsobe received from a financial advisor (also referred to as a “memberservice representative”), or from existing information about anindividual maintained by the financial institution.

The processing modules 104 integrate the financial, and other data, tocreate a financial plan or financial assessment. The financial plan orfinancial assessment is updated automatically when the inputs 102change. The processing modules 104 generally include routines, programs,objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform particularfunctions or implement particular abstract data types. The processingmodules described herein may be used for all forms of financialplanning. The processing modules may be incorporated in any financialplanning software including, but not limited to, financial planningapplication programs for use by a financial advisor, a financial productprovider, or an individual who is the subject of the financial plan. Theprocessing modules 104 create a graphical representation of thefinancial plan or financial assessment in response to the inputs 102.The processing modules 104 are described in more detail by reference toFIG. 2.

The outputs 106 include a graphical representation of a financial planor financial assessment. The graphical representation provides a singleview summary of an individual's financial condition. The single view isalso referred to as a synopsis view. In one embodiment, the graphicalrepresentation is displayed by customer-relations management (“CRM”)software used by a financial institution. In another embodiment, thegraphical representation is displayed as a financial dashboard viewpresented online using a web browser. In still another embodiment, thegraphical representation is printed on a financial statement or otherprinted materials. In still another embodiment, the graphicalrepresentation may be provided to the member electronically such as bye-mail.

The data repositories 108 comprise one or more data storage devices. Inone embodiment, the data storage devices may contain data that is usedby a financial institution. When the data in the data repository 108includes financial or other data for an individual, the data may be oneof the inputs 102 for the system 100.

Embodiments of the financial assessment system 100 provide an individualwith a representation of an individual's overall financial situation.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the processing modules 104 of the systemshown in FIG. 1 according to various embodiments. The processing modules104 comprise: a calculator module 202 to perform numeric calculations onfinancial planning data for an individual; a business rules module 204to apply business rules to the financial planning data; and a graphicsmodule 206 to receive dynamic content from the calculator module 202 andthe business rules module 204, and to utilize the dynamic content togenerate a graphical representation of a financial condition of anindividual as a single view.

The calculator module 202 performs numeric calculations on financialplanning data for an individual. In one embodiment, the calculatormodule 202 provides software tools to manage financial affairs such as aspecial purpose calculator program (“a calculator”). Examples ofcalculator programs include, but are not limited to, retirement planningcalculators, insurance calculators, mortgage calculators, collegesavings calculators, budget calculators, and any other financial relatedcalculator or tool. The calculators perform numeric calculations onfinancial planning data for an individual. The financial, and otherdata, used for the numeric calculations may be input directly by anindividual, or may be pre-filled in the calculator from data that isstored in the data repository 108 (shown in FIG. 1). In addition toproviding immediate information to an individual (e.g., how much anindividual's monthly mortgage payment will be reduced by refinancing),the calculators provide financial, and other data, to the business rulesmodule 204, and/or the graphics module 206 of the processing modules104. The financial, and other data, provided by the calculator module202 is dynamic content. The content is dynamic because the contentdepends on the information that is input from an individual, orassociated with that individual in the data repository 108. The dynamiccontent is provided to the graphics module 206.

The business rules module 204 applies business rules to the financial,and other data, of an individual. In some embodiments, the businessrules are based on industry or practice standards for financial planning(e.g., an individual should maintain an emergency fund with enough moneyto cover 3-6 months of basic living expenses.) However, the businessrules are not limited to rules based on industry or practice standards,and may be any guidelines, suggestions, ratios, or recommendations foran individual's financial situation. In addition to the dynamic natureof an individual's financial data provided by calculator module 202, thebusiness rules may also be dynamic. A financial institution may changeor update the rules applied by the business rules module 206. Also,changes in an individual's financial data may trigger the application ofbusiness rules that did not previously apply. The application of thebusiness rules to an individual's financial, and other data, providesadditional dynamic content that is provided to the graphics module 206.

The graphics module 206 receives dynamic content from the calculatormodule and the business rules module and utilizes the dynamic content togenerate a graphical representation of a financial condition of anindividual as a single view. The single view provides a synopsis of afinancial plan or assessment. The graphical representation integratesinformation from multiple sources into a single unified display. In oneembodiment, the graphical representation integrates information from thecalculators, the business rules, and the data repositories in real-time.Thus, as an individual's financial or other data is updated, thegraphics module 206 is updated.

The graphical representation also shows one or more recommendations foran individual's financial situation. The recommendations are indicatedgraphically within the synopsis view by changing the appearance of anitem, by changing the position of an item, or by animating an item. Amore detailed description of ways to provide recommendations within thesynopsis view is provided in the Example Implementations section of thisDetailed Description.

The graphics module 206 updates the graphical representation of thefinancial plan in response to changes in an individual's financial dataand/or in the business rules. As a result, the system shown in FIG. 1and FIG. 2 transforms an individual's financial, and other data, into areal-time financial plan or assessment.

The financial assessment system shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is notlimited to calculator programs, business rules and information stored inthe data repository as sources for the dynamic content. In alternateembodiments, an individual provides financial, and other data, bycompleting an electronic questionnaire. In still other embodiments, afinancial advisor, or member service representative, may ask anindividual one or more questions and provide the information toprocessing modules 104, or save the information in the data repository108. In some cases, an individual may have accounts with differentfinancial product providers. The individual may provide the financialinformation for accounts held by these different financial institutions.This provides a useful result because the financial assessment systemmay create a summary of an individual's overall financial situation, notjust a summary of the financial information related to the accounts heldby a particular financial institution.

Methods

In this section, particular methods of example embodiments are describedby reference to a series of flow charts. The methods to be performedconstitute computer programs made up of computer-executableinstructions.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 300 of generating areal-time financial plan according to various embodiments. As shown inFIG. 3, numeric calculations are performed on financial planning datafor an individual 302 and business rules are applied to the financialplanning data 304. Then, a graphical representation of a financialcondition of an individual is generated as a single view 306.

According to the method shown in FIG. 3, the financial planning data maybe provided by a financial advisor (or member service representative),by an individual who is the subject of the financial plan, and/or from afinancial institution's data repositories.

The graphical representation of an individual's financial condition maybe displayed by a customer relations management software tool, displayedby a web browser (such as with a financial dashboard), printed on afinancial statement or other printed material, or sent electronically bye-mail.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an alternate method of generatinga financial plan according to various embodiments. As shown in FIG. 4,the method begins by receiving financial information from two or morecomputerized systems 402. The computerized systems may be differentsystems within a financial institution, or may be systems withindifferent companies. As shown in FIG. 4, the financial information isintegrated in a financial plan 404 and a synopsis view of the financialplan is graphically presented 406.

In alternate embodiments, the synopsis view of the financial plan 406may be automatically updated. The synopsis view 406 may provide accessto more detailed information, financial tools, financial productinformation, one or more online applications for financial products, ora history of one or more recommendations provided to an individual by afinancial advisor.

In still another embodiment, the information shown in the synopsis view406 is customizable by an individual or a financial advisor. Theindividual or financial advisor may customize what information isdisplayed or how the information is displayed, how much information isdisplayed in the synopsis view 406.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of facilitating financialcounseling according to various embodiments. As shown in FIG. 5, asynopsis view of a financial assessment of an individual is graphicallypresented 502. In addition, one or more recommendations for anindividual are graphically indicating in the synopsis view of thefinancial assessment 504. Then, at least one of the recommendationsindicated in the synopsis view is updated in response to a change in thefinancial assessment. The recommendations are indicated graphicallywithin the synopsis view by changing the appearance of an item, bychanging the position of an item, or by animating an item. Therecommendations may be updated after a life event, after a predefinedperiod of time, or upon a change in data used for the financialassessment of an individual.

Example Implementations

Various examples of systems and methods for embodiments of the inventionhave been described above. In this section FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 7, and 8illustrate examples of graphical user interfaces incorporating visualindicators with a synopsis view to indicate financial recommendationsaccording to various embodiments. The examples shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6Cand 7 are based on a financial planning pyramid. A financial planningpyramid is one example of a graphical representation used to illustratean individual's financial planning objectives. The graphicalrepresentation is not limited to pyramid shape however. The graphicalrepresentation may have any shape or format that visually presentscomponents or elements of a financial plan. For example, the graphicalrepresentation shown in FIG. 8 is based a rectangle that is divided intotiers.

In the example shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C, the recommendations areindicated by animating components of the graphical user interface.Animation may include, but is not limited to, moving, bouncing,blinking, or pulsing components within the graphical user interface 600.

FIG. 6A is a diagram of a graphical user interface 600 according to anexample embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 6A, the graphical userinterface 600 is divided into sections representing different componentsof a financial plan. In the example graphical user interface 600 shownin FIG. 6A, there are seven components. The sections comprise afinancial planning component 602, an estate-planning component 604, arisk management component 606, a cash flow component 608, a taxstrategies component 610, a retirement planning component 612, and another goals component 614. In the example shown in FIG. 6A,recommendations are indicated for the risk management component 606 andthe estate planning component 604. The recommendations are visuallyindicated by causing each one of the components 604 and 606 to blink.

FIGS. 6B and 6C are examples of additional information that may beaccessed through the synopsis view shown in FIG. 6A. In the exampleshown in FIG. 6B, a financial advisor or an individual selects the riskmanagement component 606 and a list of subcategories within the riskmanagement category is displayed. The subcategories within the riskmanagement component 606 include, but are not limited to, liabilityinsurance, property and casualty insurance (“P&C”), long-term careinsurance, medical insurance, disability insurance, and life insurance.The list of subcategories visually indicates that individual's lifeinsurance needs are not met by causing the life component to blink.Although not shown in FIG. 6B, the graphical representation may provideadditional levels of detail. For example, if the individual selects thelife insurance component, a detailed explanation of why the individual'sneeds are not met may be provided (e.g., the individual's term lifeinsurance policy just expired and the individual does not have any otherlife insurance policies.) The graphical representation may also provideaccess to more detailed information about new life insurance policiesand, in some embodiments, may provide on-line applications for new lifeinsurance policies.

In the example shown in FIG. 6C, a financial advisor or an individualselected the estate planning component 604 of the graphicalrepresentation shown in FIG. 6A. In response, an expanded view of theestate-planning component 604 is displayed separate from the graphicalrepresentation 600. The financial advisor or individual can quickly seethat the will component is blinking to indicate that a will needs to becreated or updated. In the example shown in FIG. 6C, the informationdisplayed may vary depending on whether the individual or the financialadvisor is selecting the will component. For example, the individualreceives instructions for preparing a will while the financial advisorreceives a script for explaining to a customer why wills are important.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a graphical user interface 700 according to anexample embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the recommendationsare indicated by changing the appearance of components of the graphicaluser interface. Changes to the appearance of a component may include,but are not limited to, changing the size, color, shading, brightness,and border of the component within the graphical user interface 700. Thegraphical user interface 700 is similar to the graphical user interface600 shown in FIG. 6; however, the graphical user interface 700 providesmore detail for each one of the components in the synopsis view. Thesections shown in FIG. 7 comprise a financial planning component 602, anestate-planning component 604, a risk management component 606, a cashflow component 608, a tax strategies component 610, a retirementplanning component 612, an other goals component 614, and a periodicreview component 616. In the example shown in FIG. 7, recommendationsare visually indicated by changing the color of one or more of thecomponents of the graphical user interface. For example, a financialinstitution may use a first color (e.g., green) to indicate that anindividual's financial condition complies with the financial plan. Thefinancial institution may use a second color (e.g., yellow) to indicatethat an individual's financial condition is partially in compliance withthe financial plan. The financial institution may use a third color(e.g., red) to indicate that an individual's financial condition is notin compliance with the financial plan.

These representative colors are illustrated in FIG. 7 using differentcross-hatching patterns. The financial planning component 602, theestate planning component 604, and the risk management component 606 arecolor coded with the first color (e.g., green) to indicate theindividual is adequately protected in these areas and that no action isneeded.

The cash flow component 608 is color coded with the second color (e.g.,yellow) to indicate that further action is recommended in this areabecause the individual has only partially addressed the needs in thisarea.

The tax strategies component 610 and the retirement planning component612 are color coded with the third color (e.g., red) to indicate thataction is recommended in this areas. Action may be recommended forvarious reasons including because the individual has not taken any stepsto implement a particular area of the financial plan or that theindividual's financial condition has changed and as a result, thesecomponents are no longer adequately addressed. For example, the taxstrategies component 610 may be color coded with red because theindividual has not taken advantage of available benefits such as pre-taxspending accounts. In another example, the retirement planning component612 may be color coded with red because the individual has not set upany retirement accounts or retirement savings plans. In someembodiments, the color-coding also implies a level of importance. Forexample, items color-coded with red may be more critical to address thanitems color-coded in yellow. Likewise, items color-coded in yellow maybe more important to address than items color-coded in green.

As described above, the graphical representation of an individual'sfinancial condition may be updated based on information received fromthe individual, a financial advisor, or from a financial institution'sdata repositories. In some instances, the financial assessment systemdescribed by reference to FIG. 2 may not have complete information forall of the components of the financial plan. In one embodiment, thegraphical representation visually indicates if the financial data andother data that applies to a particular component of the financial planis not complete. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the data for the othergoals component 614 is not complete and as a result, the other goalscomponent 614 is coded with still a different color in the graphicalrepresentation. The visual appearance of components having incompleteinformation reminds the individual or the financial advisor that thisinformation is needed and may prompt them to provide the data at thenext opportunity.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a graphical user interface 800 according to anexample embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the recommendationsare indicated by changing the position of components within thegraphical user interface. Although, the graphical user interface 800provides recommendations similar to the graphical user interface 700shown in FIG. 7, the graphical user interface 800 does not use the samepyramid shape for the graphical representation. The graphicalrepresentation shown in FIG. 8 is a rectangle with tiers. The importanceof recommendations is indicated by which tier in the rectangle acomponent is positioned. In the example shown in FIG. 8, recommendationsare visually indicated by changing the position of components offinancial plan from one tier to a different tier within the graphicaluser interface.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, the financial planning component 602,the estate planning component 604, and the risk management component 606are positioned in the bottom tier (“Tier III”) to indicate theindividual is adequately protected in these areas or that thesecomponents are a lower priority for the individual than the middle tier(“Tier II”) and the top tier (“Tier I”) components.

The cash flow component 608 is positioned in the middle tier to indicatethat further action is recommended in this area because the individualhas only partially addressed the needs in this area. The tax strategiescomponent 610 and the retirement planning component 612 are positionedin the upper tier to indicate that immediate action is recommended inthis areas.

The inventive subject matter is not limited to the example graphicaluser interfaces shown in FIGS. 6 a, 6 b, 6 c, 7 and 8. These examplesare provided for illustrative purposes only. Any graphical userinterface may be used that provides automated recommendations forfinancial products and services. The graphical user interface is usefulbecause it serves as a reminder to the individual who is the subject ofthe financial plan that certain areas of their financial plan needadditional action. The graphical user interface is also useful becauseit allows financial product providers to serve their customers in amanner that is proactive. Financial product providers may advisecustomers of unmet needs based on information provided by the graphicaluser interface.

Hardware and Operating Environment

This section provides an overview of example hardware and operatingenvironments, in conjunction with which embodiments of the inventivesubject matter can be implemented.

A software program may be launched from a computer-readable medium in acomputer-based system to execute functions defined in the softwareprogram. Various programming languages may be employed to createsoftware programs designed to implement and perform the methodsdisclosed herein. The programs may be structured in an object-orientatedformat using an object-oriented language such as Java or C++.Alternatively, the programs may be structured in a procedure-orientatedformat using a procedural language, such as assembly or C. The softwarecomponents may communicate using a number of mechanisms well known tothose skilled in the art, such as application program interfaces orinter-process communication techniques, including remote procedurecalls. The teachings of various embodiments are not limited to anyparticular programming language or environment. Thus, other embodimentsmay be realized, as discussed below regarding FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an article 900 according to variousembodiments. Such embodiments may comprise a computer, a memory system,a magnetic or optical disk, some other storage device, or any type ofelectronic device or system. The article 900 may include one or moreprocessor(s) 902 coupled to a machine-accessible medium such as a memory904 (e.g., a memory including electrical, optical, or electromagneticelements). The medium may contain associated information 906 (e.g.,computer program instructions, data, or both) which, when accessed,results in a machine (e.g., the processor(s) 906) performing theactivities previously described herein.

Implementing the apparatus, systems, and methods disclosed hereinprovide real-time calculation of an individual's financial needs. Thegraphical representations of an individual's financial situation areautomatically updated based on new data as it becomes available. If allof an individual's accounts are with the same financial productprovider, then the graphical representation may be updated in real-timeusing information from the financial product provider's computerizedsystems. If the individual has some accounts that are with otherfinancial product providers, the individual may provide that informationso that the graphical representation provides a single view of theindividual's financial condition. The apparatus, systems, and methodsdescribed herein may be used for all forms of financial planning.

This has been a detailed description of some exemplary embodiments ofthe invention(s) contained within the disclosed subject matter. Suchinvention(s) may be referred to, individually and/or collectively,herein by the term “invention” merely for convenience and withoutintending to limit the scope of this application to any single inventionor inventive concept if more than one is in fact disclosed. The detaileddescription refers to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereofand which shows by way of illustration, but not of limitation, somespecific embodiments of the invention, including a preferred embodiment.These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those ofordinary skill in the art to understand and implement the inventivesubject matter. Other embodiments may be utilized and changes may bemade without departing from the scope of the inventive subject matter.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein individually or collectively by the term “invention” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any single invention or inventive concept, if more thanone is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments have beenillustrated and described herein, any arrangement calculated to achievethe same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown.This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations orvariations of various embodiments. Combinations of the aboveembodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein,will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the abovedescription.

In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are groupedtogether in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining thedisclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments of the inventionrequire more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather,as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in lessthan all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the followingclaims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with eachclaim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment.

It will be readily understood to those skilled in the art that variousother changes in the details, material, and arrangements of the partsand method stages which have been described and illustrated in order toexplain the nature of this invention may be made without departing fromthe principles and scope of the invention as expressed in the subjoinedclaims.

It is emphasized that the Abstract is provided to comply with 36 C.F.R.§1.62(b) requiring an Abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. It issubmitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpretor limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

1. A computerized method of facilitating financial counseling, themethod comprising: obtaining financial data pertaining to an individual;obtaining business rules for analyzing the financial data, wherein atleast two of the business rules each relate to a corresponding set ofpotential financial recommendations; generating, by analyzing thefinancial data using the business rules and using a processor of acomputer, a financial assessment including two or more financialrecommendations, wherein at least two of the financial recommendationsinclude a value indicating priority for the individual and informationon financial well-being of the individual; graphically representing,using the processor, the information on the financial well-being of theindividual as a synopsis view graphical display on an electronic device;graphically indicating, using the processor, in the synopsis viewgraphical display one or more of the financial recommendations using agraphical component corresponding to at least one of the financialrecommendations for the individual on the electronic device, wherein thesynopsis view includes one or more highlighted components indicatingthat one or more of the financial recommendations represented by thecomponent has been assigned a value indicating high priority and thatthe individual should act on the recommendations included in thehighlighted sections; receiving an input towards acting on one of therecommendations included in one of the highlighted sections; generating,using the processor, an updated financial assessment based on thefinancial data, the business rules, and the received input towardsacting on one of the recommendations included in one of the highlightedsections; and updating at least one of the recommendations indicated inthe synopsis view graphical display in response to the updated financialassessment.
 2. The computerized method of claim 1 wherein the one ormore recommendations are indicated by changing an appearance of an itemin the synopsis view graphical display.
 3. The computerized method ofclaim 1 wherein the one or more recommendations are indicated bychanging a position of an item in the synopsis view graphical display.4. The computerized method of claim 1 wherein the one or morerecommendations are indicated by animating an item in the synopsis viewgraphical display.
 5. The computerized method of claim 1 whereinupdating at least one of the recommendations is performed after a lifeevent.
 6. The computerized method of claim 1 wherein updating at leastone of the recommendations is performed after a predefined period oftime.
 7. The computerized method of claim 1 wherein updating at leastone of the recommendations is performed upon a change in data used fordetermining the financial well-being of the individual.
 8. Thecomputerized method of claim 1, wherein graphically indicating, using anelectronic device, includes presenting the synopsis view graphicaldisplay free of numerical values of the individual's financial status.9. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions,which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform thefollowing operations: obtaining financial data pertaining to anindividual; obtaining business rules for analyzing the financial data,wherein at least two of the business rules each relate to acorresponding set of potential financial recommendations; generating, byanalyzing the financial data using the business rules, a financialassessment including two or more financial recommendations, wherein atleast two of the financial recommendations include a value indicatingpriority for the individual and information on financial well-being ofthe individual; graphically representing the information on thefinancial well-being of the individual as a synopsis view graphicaldisplay; graphically indicating in the synopsis view graphical displayone or more of the financial recommendations using a graphical componentcorresponding to at least one of the financial recommendations for theindividual, wherein the synopsis view includes one or more highlightedcomponents indicating that one or more of the financial recommendationsrepresented by the component has been assigned a value indicating highpriority and that the individual should act on the recommendationsincluded in the highlighted sections; receiving an input towards actingon one of the recommendations included in one of the highlightedsections; generating an updated financial assessment based on thefinancial data, the business rules, and the received input towardsacting on one of the recommendations included in one of the highlightedsections; and updating at least one of the recommendations indicated inthe synopsis view graphical display in response to the updated financialassessment.
 10. The machine-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the oneor more recommendations are indicated by changing an appearance of anitem in the synopsis view graphical display.
 11. The machine-readablemedium of claim 9 wherein the one or more recommendations are indicatedby changing a position of an item in the synopsis view graphicaldisplay.
 12. The machine-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the one ormore recommendations are indicated by animating an item in the synopsisview graphical display.
 13. The machine-readable medium of claim 9wherein updating at least one of the recommendations is performed aftera life event.
 14. The machine-readable medium of claim 9 whereinupdating at least one of the recommendations is performed after apredefined period of time.
 15. The machine-readable medium of claim 9wherein updating at least one of the recommendations is performed upon achange in data used for determining the financial well-being of theindividual.
 16. A computerized system for facilitating financialcounseling, the system having subsystems comprising: a processor; and amemory disposed in communication with the processor and storingprocessor-executable instructions, the instructions comprisinginstructions for: obtaining financial data pertaining to an individual;obtaining business rules for analyzing the financial data, wherein atleast two of the business rules each relate to a corresponding set ofpotential financial recommendations; generating, by analyzing thefinancial data using the business rules, a financial assessmentincluding two or more financial recommendations, wherein at least two ofthe financial recommendations include a value indicating priority forthe individual and information on financial well-being of theindividual; graphically representing the information on the financialwell-being of the individual as a synopsis view graphical display,graphically indicating in the synopsis view graphical display one ormore of the financial recommendations using a graphical componentcorresponding to at least one of the financial recommendations for theindividual, wherein the synopsis view includes one or more highlightedcomponents indicating that one or more of the financial recommendationsrepresented by the component had been assigned a value indicating highpriority and that the individual should act on the recommendationsincluded in the highlighted sections, receiving an input towards actingon one of the recommendations included in one of the highlightedsections; generating an updated financial assessment based on thefinancial data, the business rules, and the received input towardsacting on one of the recommendations included in one of the highlightedsections; and updating at least one of the recommendations indicated inthe synopsis view graphical display in response to the updated financialassessment.
 17. The computerized system of claim 16 wherein the one ormore recommendations are indicated by changing an appearance of an itemin the synopsis view graphical display.
 18. The computerized system ofclaim 16 wherein the one or more recommendations are indicated bychanging a position of an item in the synopsis view graphical display.19. The computerized system of claim 16 wherein the one or morerecommendations are indicated by animating an item in the synopsis viewgraphical display.
 20. The computerized system of claim 16 whereinupdating at least one of the recommendations is performed after a lifeevent.
 21. The computerized system of claim 16 wherein updating at leastone of the recommendations is performed after a predefined period oftime.
 22. The computerized system of claim 16 wherein updating at leastone of the recommendations is performed upon a change in data used fordetermining the financial well-being of the individual.